SOCCER - CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
2014/15
Group E - Roma (1) @ (1) Manchester City - City earned their 1st point in their qualification group with a hard-fought draw at the Etihad Stadium. City started fast and took the lead with a 5th minute penalty from Sergio Aguero. But Roma settled quickly and equalised with a 23rd minute goal from Francesco Totti. With the goal, Totti became the oldest ever Champions League goal-scorer (38 years, 3 days). Both teams pushed for the winner in the 2nd half, but neither team could find the goal they needed and the game ended honours even (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Group B - Real Madrid (3) @ (0) Liverpool - Real Madrid kept their unbeaten record in the group with a comfortable win at Anfield, avenging their 4-0 loss to the Reds in 2009. All the damage was done in the 1st half, with the goals coming from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema (2). Real Madrid were missing Gareth Bale to injury (9, 1 Disc, LFCTV - Bradley/Gillespie, PAL)
Group E - Bayern Munich (2) @ (3) Manchester City - On a raucous night in Manchester, City kept their qualification hopes alive with a comeback win against the Champions. City took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute with a Penalty but Bayern struck back with 2 goals before the half-time break. With the game petering out to a Bayern win, City scored 2 goals in the final 5 minutes, including the game-winner in injury time, to take the win. All of the City goals came from Sergio Aguero (3) with the Bayern goals coming from Xabi Alonso and Robert Lewandowksi (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Schalke (4) @ (3) Real Madrid - In a shootout at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid withstood a late surge by Schalke to book their place in the next round. Schalke were already down 2-0 after the 1st leg but came out firing in the 2nd leg. Both teams were even at 2-2 at the half but Schalke scored 2 goals in the final 23 minutes to set up a nervy finish but couldn't find the winning goal. The Schalke goals came from Klass-Jan Huntelaar (2), Christian Fuchs and Leroy Sane. The Real Madrid goals came from Cristiano Ronaldo (2) and Karim Benzema (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Semi-Final, 1st Leg - Real Madrid (1) @ (2) Juventus - In front of a raucous home crowd, Juventus upset Real Madrid to give them the lead in the tie. Juventus started fast and took the lead in the 8th minute through Alvaro Morata. Real Madrid fought back to equalise through Cristiano Ronaldo to send the teams in level at the half. Juventus re-took the lead on 57 minutes when Carlos Tevez scored a penalty and the home side closed out the game to take a winning edge to Madrid. Disc 2 also includes 3 minute hi-lites of the 2nd Leg (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Barcelona (2) @ (3) Bayern Munich - Bayern Munich looked to overturn a 3-0 deficit from the 1st leg, but Barcelona proved too strong and booked a place in the Final despite the loss. Bayern Munich took an early lead only for Barcelona to settle the tie as a contest with 2 goals before half-time. Bayern Munich needed to score 5 goals in the 2nd half to win the tie but, despite dominating possession, could only manage 2 more goals. The Bayern Munich goals came from Medhi Benatia, Robert Lewandowski and Thomas Muller. The Barcelona goals came from Neymar (2). Disc 1 includes brief hi-lites of the 1st Leg (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)
Final - Juventus (1) v (3) Barcelona - Barcelona claimed their 3rd title in 6 years and their 5th overall with an exciting win in Berlin. Barcelona started fast and led 1-0 after 4 minutes with a goal from Ivan Rakitic, but the Italians fought back to equalise at the start of the 2nd half with a goal from Alvaro Morata. With the game finely balanced, Barcelona took control in the 68th minute with a Luis Suarez goal and finished the game off with a 3rd goal with the last kick of the game from Neymar. The game was also the final match for Barcelona midfielder Xavi, who came on as a substitute in the 78th minute and took the captains' armband. Disc 1 contains a 24 minute preview of the Final from ITV (10, 2 Discs, ITV - Tyldesley/Townsend, PAL)